Force of Edge
by therealcriminalminds1
Summary: The truth of Furnace Penitentiary will be uncovered.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was originally written between Solitary and Death Sentence. Some minor details have been changed or exaggerated to suit our purposes. Also, the characters are EXTREMELY out of character. Please don't smite us. **

**Disclaimer: We do not own the Escape From Furnace series, or any of the characters (sadly). They all belong to the genius author, Alexander Gordon Smith. **

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><p>I scooted myself underneath my bunk, hoping against hope that the creature had finally gone away. No such luck. I could feel its presence in the room, like an awkward silence waiting to break. I held my breath and tensed every muscle in my body. Ok, so now I would have to improvise. I was good at improvising, was I not?<p>

I carefully peered out from under the bunk. The creature was only a black outline-I couldn't make out any features other than an elongated head and torso. It looked like the result of a man being caught in a taffy-pulling machine. At first, it was silent and still, like a painting. Then, as I was creeping back farther into my hiding place, it dropped to the floor and came after me.

I yelped and fell backwards, banging my head against the metal underside of the bunk. Bright colors exploded across my vision, and I slumped onto the floor. Pain reverberated inside my skull and spread like waves throughout the rest of my body.

After a few seconds, I gathered my wits about me enough to peek open an eye. The creature had disappeared again, leaving no trace behind. The cell was completely empty. I gave an inward sigh of relief and closed the eye again. If anything, I had chosen a comfy place as my hiding spot. If the creature came again, I could be ready. And if it didn't…well, there was no harm in taking a nap.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled me out of my stupor. I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at the front of the cell. It was probably Donovan wondering why I missed trough time, or maybe a Skull coming to beat me to a pulp. Either one would have been fine by me-I wasn't particularly fussy about company.

The footsteps stopped once they reached the outside corner of my cell. Two seconds later, they picked up again and faded away into the opposite direction. It struck me as weird. Why would someone stop right outside my cell and then head back? Unless they were from the cell, next to mine...or they were looking for someone.

I pulled myself out from under the bunk and stumbled drunkenly to the cell door. My head throbbed with every step, and my muscles whined for me to lie back down, but I couldn't curb my curiosity. It was always one (the only one) of my major flaws.

I poked my head out and looked to the left. Nothing-the entire level was deserted. The only sounds were those that drifted up from the courtyard below. Huh. Maybe whoever it was just went back down. I shrugged and glanced to the right, making sure no one had snuck past me without me knowing. Nothing. Oh well. I turned and shuffled back into my cell.

The creature stood against the far wall, arms spread out as if it was trying not to fall. It was transparent, or mostly so, and it dyed the rock behind it a few shades darker.I could feel it glaring at me with an air of disgust.

"What?" I asked it, raising an arm to steady myself against the wall. "What do you want?"

The creature mimicked my movement, raising an arm.

It was then the realization hit me.

I waved at the creature, and it waved back at the same exact time.

...Well, that's embarrassing.

I sighed and plopped down onto my mattress. I had very likely just given myself a concussion over my own shadow. If that wasn't the epitome of stupid, I don't know what is.

Footsteps. Again.

I glanced up, right in time to catch a flash of long blonde hair. The sight didn't even compute in my mind until I was halfway out of my cell following. Wait, _long _hair? A lot of guys here had long hair, but they usually kept it rolled up in bandanas or something. And the few that let it hang loose looked like the spawn of Cousin It. This hair was different. It was styled.

I followed the footsteps in the direction of the staircase. Maybe Oli had gotten a few more tools to work with other than that shank, but I doubted it. Grooming wasn't exactly a priority in Furnace.

Whoever it was was going up to the Seventh Level. Again, a few possibilities crossed my mind. Maybe they were looking for a good place to jump. Maybe they wanted some peace and quiet. Or, maybe they wanted to explore. All seemed perfectly plausible.

I climbed up the steps, wincing every now and then. I still had one hell of a headache, and my muscles were already sore from chipping earlier today. My burning curiosity was the only thing that made me bother to go on.

I stepped onto the Seventh Level and looked around, half-expecting to see nothing again. I've been hallucinating all day, so I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't.

Empty cells extended in both directions, their interiors dark and eerie. I shuddered a bit. It was creepy being up there-like the ghosts of the inmates who had leapt to their deaths were watching your every move, silently egging you on to follow their lead. Maybe I would one day…

Something slammed into my back, sending me sprawling on the floor. I managed to let out only a choked yelp before a hand clamped down around my mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

I wasn't a world class spy, but give me a break- a dead man could have heard this inmate coming from a mile off. Between his dry wheezes and shuffling steps, I managed to give him the slip coming up to the seventh floor. I positioned myself behind him, pressed up against the rock wall, poised and ready to strike. I counted only a few seconds to ready myself, then shot forward, throwing my shoulder into his back. He choked out a yelp of surprise, falling onto the ground with a loud thud. I gave a mental curse before I jumped over his tangled limbs and slapped my hand over his mouth. It was only a moment before his eyes met mine, and he let out another squeak of surprise. In response, I tightened my grip, curling my free hand into a fist and raising it threateningly. "Who are you, and why were you following me?"

I let out a disgusted sound, immediately pulling my hand away from his mouth and wiping it furiously on my jeans. "Did you just-"

"Yep." He rose to his feet, regarding me with a nonchalant expression. I, on the other hand, was watching him carefully, calculating how far his arm length could reach, how many steps he'd take to reach me, what weapons he could have on him. It didn't take long for me to notice how weak and frail his frame seemed- emaciated for someone his age. So the rumors were true. If at first glance you could tell the inmates weren't eating much- and whatever they _were_ eating was obviously not enough- there was no telling what other atrocities were being committed down here. I was almost afraid of what else I would find in Furnace. What other rumors were true about the horrors of this prison.

My concentration was cut short by a whistle. "You don't have to stare, shweetie." He winked, stirring something close to hatred in the pit of my stomach. _Cocky little_... I cleared my throat, keeping my temper in check.

"I wasn't staring."

He regarded me with an amused expression, and I gave an inward grown. _Come on! You can come up with better comebacks than that. You're in a top security prison- man up!_

Sensing a pause in the conversation, he sidled up close to me, trying to be as charming as he could. I growled, stepping away. "Don't come any closer."

He sniffed. "Touchy."

I watched him for a moment, then turned and walked back to the stairs. My hope that he had stayed where he was dwindled as I heard a shuffling sound behind me. I lowered my hand, touching the hilt of my knife for reassurance. I couldn't be too careful- I had no idea who I was dealing with. He was either a petty criminal, or a mass murderer ready to strike. Obviously, I wasn't going to take the chance of having a knife shoved into my back. I whirled around quickly. "What-" I broke off with a squeak of alarm.

He was laying on his stomach, scooting himself along the floor in an attempt of an army crawl. He gave a cheerful laugh as he crawled, reminding me of a demon in a horror movie I had seen. In response, I kicked him. "Would you go away already?"

He jumped up, anger flashing in his eyes. "What the hell? That _hurt._"

"It was supposed to!" I snapped back.

For a moment, we stopped, glaring at each other, daring each other to make a move. My fists clenched at my sides, my heart starting to race with the threat of a fight. Would he attack me? I paused, thinking about my knife again. No matter...I'd be alright. I could outfight him. After a while, I slowly uncurled my fists. Even so, neither of us moved from our spots. I half expected a tumbleweed to roll between us.

Eventually, he let out a whine, his shoulders slumping.

"What?"

"I said I'm _bored_."

I crossed my arms with a smirk, seizing the moment. "Sounds like a personal problem to me." That should have been enough to make up for earlier.

He paused, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he groped for a retort. He finally settled with: "You're mean." He stuck out his lower lip, green eyes blinking as innocently as possible at me. "Come on," he said, "you don't want to hurt this, do you?"

Between his mood swings and ridiculous antics, I let myself relax. I didn't think he was too much of a threat. Besides, this was why I had fought my way down here, wasn't it? The whole goal of this mission was to infiltrate the prison and bring back some kind of proof. Befriending an inmate would help me fill in the missing pieces, wouldn't it? I paused as he shuffled a little closer, batting his eyes. I edged away a little, my annoyance growing.

Acquaintances would work.

I looked at him, taking another step away. "What's your name?"

He straightened and smoothed his hair back, trying to be suave. "Alexander the Great!" He proudly exclaimed. He winked at me again, and I tried to ignore his eyes flickering to the floor and back at my eyes. _Creep_. "But you, shweetheart, can call me Alex Sawyer."

I crossed my arms, giving him a scowl. "Charming." I started past him, but he held out an arm, blocking my way. "What is it now? I have something I have to-"

"You didn't tell me your name."

"Yes, for very good reasons." I made for the stairs again, jumping over his leg he stuck out to trip me. He grabbed my arm, opening his mouth to speak again. Before he could say anything, I jerked it away, giving him a glare. "Don't touch me." He watched me, silent now, and I was slightly afraid of what was going on inside his mind. "Listen, I'd rather have my visits here secret, and that's kind of hard to do when my name's floating around from cell to cell-"

"I won't tell anyone."

"Bull."

He paused, as if he was going to argue, then shrugged. "Yea, I'll probably tell D."

"My point exactly." This time I pushed past him, a little rougher than I had meant. But I didn't bother turning around to apologize. Instead, I kept a steady pace down the stairs, almost desperate to get away.

"Come onnnnnn! Are you a criminal too? Some psycho assassin? Because you and Gary could get along great if..."

His voice faded away as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Muttering a curse, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it.

"How the hell do you have cell signal down here?"

"Magic," I muttered, opening the text. My heart dropped into my stomach, which was twisting in fear at the words.

_I expect you home in one hour._

I started down a hallway, shoving my phone back in my pocket as I walked. I paused, turning around. "Listen, I'll make you a deal."

Alex's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Alright. What's the deal?"

"I tell you my name, and you don't follow me."

He smirked. "And what if I-"

"-break the deal?" I finished for him, slipping out my knife and holding it out threateningly. "I'll kill you. It's as simple as that."

His shoulders slumped, and he glared at me through his mess of blonde hair. "Fine." He growled.

I turned and ran down the hall, pausing long enough to look over my shoulder and give him a sharp grin. "Emily."


End file.
